where are the snows of yesteryear UK /ˌ(h)wɛəɹ‿ɑː ðə ˈsnəʊz‿əv ˈjɛstəjɪə/US /ˌ(h)wɛəɹ‿ɑɹ ðə ˈsnoʊz‿əv ˈjɛstəɹˌjɪ(ə)ɹ/ phrase1 •(rhetoric, literary) Used to emphasize that life or time passes quickly.Where is Echo, beheld of no man, / Only heard on river and mere,— / She whose beauty was more than human? … / But where are the snows of yester-year? — 1869